NZ sharemarket makes small early gain

The New Zealand sharemarket gained slightly in early trading as markets digested details of the Federal Reserve plan to breathe new life into the struggling United States economy.

The Fed committed to buy $600 billion more in government bonds by the middle of next year. The decision, which takes the Fed into largely uncharted waters, was aimed at further lowering borrowing costs for consumers and businesses still suffering in the aftermath of the worst recession since the great depression.

The size of the plan was greater than expecetd but less than many hoped.

About 10.20am (8.20am AEDT), the benchmark NZX-50 index was up 3.24 points at 3336.32, after touching its highest point in nearly seven months, just below 3337 points, a few minutes earlier. On Wednesday, it ended up 8.3 points.

Nuplex
added 2¢ to $3.55 early,
Sky City
was up 2¢ to $3.21 and
Xero
added 3¢ to $1.73, equal to its previous high reached two weeks ago.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
lost 2¢ to $3.18,
Telecom
gained 1¢ to $2.07, while
Fletcher Building
lost 1¢ to $8.21 and
Contact Energy
slipped 1¢ to $5.99.